Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Politico.com reports that Alan Grayson (D-Fl) is introducing a bill that would mandate paid vacation time in an effort to "stimulate" the economy. Is he serious?

Sure more happier, rested employees are more productive, but where does the government get off MANDATING this? Paid time off should be a perk at the discretion of the company offering it, because that's what it is...an INCENTIVE to work better, not an ENTITLEMENT. Where did our country go wrong that we feel that we are entitled to being paid for time we are not actually working??

As far as stimulating the economy, what a great way to help companies keep afloat...force them to pay all their employees a week's wages and get no productivity from those dollars spent. Great formula for success. Hey why not pay me for each hour I sleep per night? That would ensure I'm fully rested and will be more productive at work.

It should be up to individual companies whether or not they can afford the perk of paid time off. They know better than anyone if they can afford it, and it should be up to them whether or not they want to provide paid time off. If you don't like it, don't go work there...0r maybe work for a living instead of feeling you should get paid for time you don't work.

Mr. Grayson should get himself out of the unions' pockets and come back to the real world and hang out with the rest of us hard-working blue collar Americans.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

This is an email I recently received in my inbox and felt it was fairly true and entertaining:

"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights."

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair..

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services o f other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which, by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an overabundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from!

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all with no fear of persecution The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part ofour heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Oddly enough, with the political winds blowing in the liberal direction, people are becoming more conservative on the abortion issue...interesting. If you're having trouble viewing the video, click here.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

In celebration of my 100th post on my blog, I decided to get a little patriotic. I really get sick of all the people who say "America has no culture" or "we need to be more like Europe" because they're cultured and proper and we're just a bunch of backward hicks who have yet to learn of dental hygiene. I BEG to differ.

Let's do a little comparison between Europe and America, as well as look at some things that are purely American/perfected by America.

Here's superior, progressive Europe for you: The smart car. Seats two with limited storage capacity and gets great mileage (roughtly 40 mpg). Isn't it cute?Now I present to you the American "smart car":

Our version of alternative transportation also comfortably seats two, gets roughly 40-50 mpg (depending on model, mine gets 42) and has limited storage capacity, but is decidedly more Bad A%#. Pardon my French. In addition, it's road legal in sweet states like South Dakota.

How about our sports? We invented basketball and heavily modified the lackluster sport of cricket into the great American sport of baseball. Not to mention having the great idea of throwing pads on so we can hit harder and faster in another classic American sport: football.

European Sports:

American Sports:

We also have a ton of traditions that go along with these sports. Tailgating? Americans treasure friendship and laughter more than anything. I've been to many different countries, and one thing I've noticed staying with people in other countries is that they simply don't laugh and enjoy life as much as we do. Americans will look for any excuse to fire up a grill with a bunch of friends and have a good time, whether it be tailgating before a football game, a pep rally, Superbowl party, or simply just the weekend...we have a culture of fraternalism, as we are more free than most societies to do these things. That's why I get really irked when government tries to "protect" us from activities it deems too dangerous or risky...trying to save us from ourselves. I see it as a gradual process that builds upon itself, slowly leading to a overburdened, over regulated society where there are very few things that we are free to choose for ourselves to do. Americans have a culture of adventure, fun, daringness, and outrageousness (which probably has something to do with our higher health care costs maybe?) Don't like it? I don't mind...I enjoy being able to choose my own risks for myself.

They said we couldn't fly, we did.They said we'd never go to the moon, we did....a few times. We even turned the failed mission of Apollo 13 into a success story.Who would have thought electricity could think? We did. You can thank America for computers. For that matter, thank us for the light bulb, too. You rock Thomas Edison. Segways. Telephones. Sewing machines. Steam engines. Air conditioning. Revolvers. Combines, which increased our ability to provide food for billions. Vulcanized rubber. Steel. Rolled toilet paper. Motorcycles. Vacuum cleaners. Jeans. Keyboards. Electric dental drills. The Internet. Zippers. Hollywood. Water skiing. I could go on.

The point is, why did so many great, innovative things come from America? We didn't necessarily invent pizza or the internal combustion engine...but we perfected them. Pizza was not popular worldwide until we decided to cut it in slices, throw toppings on it, and sell it at every street corner in New York. The automobile was only for the super rich in Europe, but through our creativity and ingenuity, Henry Ford was able to create the assembly line and put a vehicle with an internal combustion engine within the price range of most Americans.

We were able to accomplish all these things because we had a government that did not promise everyone everything. Our country has a history and culture of independence, self-reliance, and economic freedom...conditions that require citizens to be creative, innovate, and work hard to become successful and survive. We are the most mobile society on the planet; rags to riches, if you prefer. There is no permanent, pompous upper class as they have in Europe. Eventually generations of unwise practices will bring the upper class down a notch if they are not wise in their economic decisions (*coughParisHiltoncough*). Lower class people have the opportunity to succeed if they try, work hard, and utilize their talents and we maintain a society that encourages and rewards success...incentives for effort.

How about music? We invented jazz, rap, country, hip hop, blues, techno, bluegrass, gospel, ROCK AND ROLL. The world would be a dull place without a lot of our music, which is the biggest music industry in the world now.

Food. I'm not even going to name all the foods that I can think of that are purely American because I'll get hungry, but I'll name a few: apple pie of course needs to be mentioned, New England clam chowder, French fries, Philly cheesesteak, turkey, hotdish, venison (because our country still lets us hunt wild animals), and all our unique seafood species and cooking techniques on the coasts. We also have a unique ability to assimilate things from other countries and create unique tastes that quickly become popular and Americanized, in the unique tradition of the "melting pot." Creole cooking in the South, Germanic/Swedish/Norwegian variations around here in the Midwest, Tex-mex in the Southwest, and Hawaiian/Asian influences on the west coast. Very few of these dishes would be see as authentic by their home countries, because we modify and tinker too much in our culture.

What about our activities? Americans are willing to try anything and everything. The wing-walking, flag-sitting, etc. craze of the roaring 20's comes to mind. American Idol and similar shows, which allow for the every day people to pursue their talents and possibly become rich and famous. Fear Factor. Bungee jumping. Evil Knievel. I'd be willing to bet that most records that Guinness has in his Book of World Records are held by Americans. We like everything bigger, faster, and stronger. We like to have fun and push the envelope.

Americans also "invented" the Great Outdoors. Hunting, fishing, and camping are a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States. We have a deep appreciation for nature conservation and all it offers to us. America has some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.We are constantly busy with other activities as well. Volunteerism is one of the most important American traditions, and we have some of the highest rates of volunteerism in the world. It's estimated that American volunteerism represents roughly $150 billion worth of economic activity! Maybe we're just more generous, but I believe it has more to do with our culture of independence from government. We feel a bigger sense of compassion for our neighbor and have a higher level of civic responsibility for our communities when we have to rely on ourselves to solve problems.

The point is we most definitely have a culture. Don't let anyone tell you different, or that we should be more like Europe. Anyone who thinks that, you're free to move there...I may even buy your plane ticket.

We have a robust, brash, jovial, creative, innovative, accepting, entrepreneurial, original, and unique culture. Yes, we may seem to bully other nations at times, but almost every single war we have ever fought (which are few compared to many nations) has been in the name of defending freedom, whether our own or to liberate others. Our wars have been fought mainly over preserving individual freedom, individual liberty, and individual independence, and I'll die before I let that American ideal fade into the annals of history, only to become a distant memory as some try to passively merge our country's culture with the Western European collectivist, stagnate, nanny-state culture of despotism.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Obama said today in a press conference that he's going to crack down on offshore tax loopholes and other forms of tax havens. Companies do this to avoid the taxation imposed on them by the government and are looking for the "path of least resistance": the location where tax code can be most beneficial to them. Why would they act in such shady ways?

Well, what would you do in their situation? Here's what companies face: a corporate tax rate of 39.3 percent. Our country says fine. You can work here, provide jobs here, expand here, pay your employees well, and reinvest...but only after we take OVER A THIRD of your money! What would you do? Take a look at the state income taxes, which vary from state to state. Say you're just over the border living in Minnesota. You would be looking at a state income tax rate of 5.35%, 7.05%, or 7.85%, depending on your income. A couple miles away in South Dakota, the state income tax is 0%. People are moving from around the country (voting with their feet) in droves to places like South Dakota to avoid high rates of taxation.

That's exactly what these companies are doing!

So, President Obama, why don't we look at the root cause as to why companies (jobs) are literally running away from the United States? Rather than trying to stop the hemorrhaging of companies out of the U.S. through new overseas tax rules, why not make incentive for companies to stay here?

Here's a "radical" idea. Some CHANGE, if you will.

Why not drop the U.S. corporate tax rate to ZERO percent? We will be the nation that foreign companies will flock to, thirsty for a friendly business environment. Millions of American jobs would be created, and ultimately more money would be brought into the coffers of the U.S. Treasury. Industry will return to America. Sure labor may be cheaper overseas, but when companies aren't taxed at all here, that cost-saving measure might not really be a factor anymore!

One of the more common responses I'll get is that companies are big, rich, evil, and have a better ability to pay taxes than the little guy (me and you).

In response to that, I say that corporate taxes do nothing but HURT the little guy. Taking 40 percent of companies' profits inhibits a company's ability to grant pay raises and benefits to their workers and reduces how much the company can reinvest and build another wing on the factory (more jobs for little guys). Companies may compensate by raising their prices (so all us little guys have to pay more for all products). High company taxation also decreases the amount they are able to dish out in the form of dividends to their shareholders, which consist largely of 401k retirement accounts and similar things...accounts owned by the little guys like us that we rely on to create a sufficient retirement account for ourselves.

I would also mention that corporate taxes are double-taxation anyway...once companies are taxed, the remaining money dished out to all the workers and executives is again subject to personal income tax. And sales taxes. Excise taxes. Property taxes. Etc. Etc.

You want change? This is change that President Obama will never see through, yet would help you and me and all of America much more than any new overseas tax rules ever could.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

This is how radical our leaders in Washington are now...they believe they are so superior to everyone else in intellect that they do not even have to fight fair to get a single-payer health care system here in the United States. Because we know politicians are experts on health care and providers and insurance companies know nothing. I can't wait to stay get in line for a year before I can receive triple bypass surgery. Receiving that care the very next day after diagnosis in our current system rather than dying waiting in line is just tragic... To remedy the increased demand for "free" health care, the government would be in charge of rationing who gets care and who gets thrown on the waiting list, based on perceived need. Just watch this clip and see how extreme things have become, that the powers that be are willing to give the ax to the private health care industry in favor of pursuing a public payer experiment, which has failed in Canada and Great Britain:

Friday, May 1, 2009

And these are the liberal "progressive" people in charge of the country right now. Yes, it was on John Stewart, but these are real people at a real place saying what they really think. Pay attention to the part where they don't believe military personnel are entitled to the same rights as the rest of us...that's real inclusive and open-minded and progressive!